European Union talks with Albania and North Macedonia
European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR) of the European Commission announced a bilateral screening with Albania and North Macedonia of ‘Resources, agriculture and cohesion cluster’ (cluster 5).
Last week, the European Commission hosted delegations of both candidate countries at explanatory meeting on the legislation covering plant health in Cluster 5, which brings together the agriculture and rural development, food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary policy, fisheries, regional policy and coordination of structural instruments as well as financial and budgetary provisions.
Screening of law approximation is the first step in the accession negotiation process. The screening process is structured along six thematic clusters. These clusters encompass the relevant acquis chapters along broad themes related to good governance, internal market, economic competitiveness and connectivity.
Bilateral screening meetings on the first four clusters have already been finalized. For Albania and North Macedonia it started immediately after the Intergovernmental Conferences on 19 July 2022, and resumed in September 2022 with Cluster 1 – Fundamentals, October 2022 with Cluster 2 – Internal Market, February 2023 with Cluster 3 – competitiveness and inclusive growth and June 2023 with Cluster 4 – the Green agenda and sustainable connectivity. For plant health in Cluster 5, the second part of screening will start in October 2023, when the bilateral sessions are scheduled, where each candidate country is invited to present where it stands, by chapter, in its preparations to adopt and implement the acquis.
The PHWB project supports performance of plant health services in legislation approximation towards the result that the Western Balkan countries are ready for accession to the EU from a sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) perspective.